Road-vehicle steering mechanism



Cfr

Patented May 17, 1927.

'UNETEO STATES ingaan PATENT oFFlcE.

JOHN M. LARSH, F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEAC'- SIGNMENTS, OF ONE-FOURTH TO WILLIAM MODE TAYLOR AND\ONEFOURTH TOULYSSES GRANT SMITH, BOTI-I OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ROAD-VEHICLE STEERING MECHANISM.

Application filed March 17, 1928.

This invention relates to steering mechanism for road vehicles which isparticularly adapted for use with road making machines although capableof use en wheeled vehicles of any kind, and is a continuation in partofniy application for patent on `a road making ma chine filed January4,1925, Serial No. 79,245.

One object of my invention is to change the planes of th-e front wheelsrelative to the longitudinal axis of the machine without changing thedirection of a tongue supporting the steering mechanism.

Another object is to provide means, manipulated from a rear platform,for 'controlling the direction of travel of the machine withoutconflicting with an entirely separate means of steering by side motionof the tongue; and a further object is to provide an auxiliary pulling`tongue, adapted for angular variation from the direction of travel ofthe machine with or independently of a tongue supporting a steeringmechanism, to allow draft animals to secure footing on firmer ground toone side when the ground directly ahead is soft or less suitable.

I accomplish the objects of this invention by themeans illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which: Fig. l, is a. side elevation of aroad making` machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a det-ail inside elevation of the front axle with the wheel removed, and of'anadjacent portion of the steering tongue and associated steeringmechanism, Fig. 3 is a. portion of Fig. 2 on a larger scale and Fig. 4is a top plan View of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2; the scale of thelast three figures being larger than that of Fig. l.

y Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several viewsof the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, l is the body frame of the machine, 2 thefront and 8 the rear road wheels. A block 70 is connected by verticalangle-bar standards 72 with the body frame l, and also by diagonalbraces 202. The wheels 2 are mounted on axlestubs on vertical spindles52 which spindles are pivotally supported by an axle which is held fromskewable adjustment, which requires the wheels 2 to be turned withspindles 52. to steer or change the direction of travel of the machine.The axle 35 is movable endwise of itself by the action of a pinion 37 ona rack 36 carried by the axle.

draft power (notl shown) Serial No. 95,227.

Attached to the blo/ck 70, is a drawbar 7l, which terminates at-each endwith an eye, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 2. Connected with the eyeat the frontl end of the drawbar, by a link 7 3, is a steering tongue74, the front end of which is free to swing about the link as a hinge;and pivoted under the rear end of the lsteering tongue 74 is a ,drafttongue 75, the frontend of which is hitched to a tractor, horseteams, orother C the tongue 74 is resiliently supported from the body frame l bya spring-'link 58. The tongues 74 and 7 5 at their forwardportions arenormally united by lashings, a slip-ring or other well known means, notshown, so the tongue 74 will not swing or vibrate independently vbymovement of the wheels over uneven road surfaces.

Slidingly mounted in a .suitable horizontal opening in the tongue 74, isa box 8l, through which slides a .pair of channel bars 77. 77, turnedwith their channels tow rd each other, and with their adjacent flangesseparated, such as to form side slots for the passage therethrough of` ashaft 80, on which, within the channels, is a spur gear wheel '79. Arack bar 78 is secured in thefchannel of the upper bar 77, and the .spurgearV4 wheel 79 is in engagement with this rack bar.

The shaft 8O is suitably journaled in a box 81, supported in thehorizontal opening in the tongue 74. Mounted on the shaft is a wormwheel 82, which is driven by a worm 83, on the lower end of a. verticalshaft The box 8l has a vertical pin 54, wh 3h passes between the tongueand a guide bar 55, attached to the tongue, and extending paralleltherewith.r when Ait .is desired that,v

the machine niove'in a stra-ight course, butupon turning or varying froma straight course the pin is withdrawn, thereby leaving thebars 77freeto'be moved lengthwise of themselves. y

The shaft 84, as shown in Fig. l, is in two telescoping members, and hasa universal joint 85. The shaft -terminates at its upper end with abevel wheel 86 which is driven by a bevel pinion 87, on a shaft 88,thatextends back to a crank 89, located 'above a platform 34 upon whichan operator stands.

rI-he shaft 88 has universal joints90, 90. By the. operation of theabove described The weight oY l -iil mechanism, when the crank 89 isturned, the rack bar 7 8, and of necessity .the channel bars 77 attachedto it, are moved lengthwise through the tongue, and it is obvious, that,by suitably connecting the ends of the bars 77 ivith the axle stubs onwhich the front Wheels 2 are mounted. the wheels Will be turned in adirection to steer lne machine. To this end the spindles 52, which areintegral with the axle-stubs, are formed with forwardly projecting arms91, 91, and these are connected by link bars 100, 100',v With therespective ends of the bars 77. rihe link bars here shown have verticaljoints 56, 5G. 'lhe bars 77 and box 81 slide lengthwise of the tongue,to the adjusted positions required by the swing of the front Wheels 2 tothe position of the bars, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1l.

lo prevent injury to the machine by contact of a front Wheel, or itshub, vvith a pole or other road obstruction, 1 provide a release in theform of a biealtable pin 25, of Wood, or the like, which Will break andallow the contacting member to give Way when the strain exceeds theresistance of the pin, and the breakage is repaired by inserting a neivpin.

Connected with the eye at the rear end 0f the draWbar 71, is an eye-bolt102, by means of which a drawbar 101, is connected, and a pull on thetongue is directly transmitted through the draw-bar 71. T he scraperblade connected with the` drawbar 101, and thus the draft power istransmitted with the greatest advantage to the accomplishment of theuseful Work of the machine.

Attention is called to an important feature of my invention afforded bythe adaptation of a tongue 74 sivingingly attached to the short draw-bar71, with means attached to said tongue for steering by the usual sidemotion of the tongue, but having, at the .1 fie time, an entirelyindependent means for steering, operated from another part of themachine. These two means for steering may either be operated separatelyto steer the machine, or they may both be used sin'niltaneous y Withoutany mechanical interference. Frequently a road making machine becomesmired in soft ground or is so situated that an adequate straight-aheadpull is unavailable; but by swinging the tongue unit to one side asshown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, draft animals will be able to get afoot hold on firmer ground, or a tractor operated to better advantage.The steering as controlled independently of the pulling tongue, is bythe means hereabove described.

I claim:

1. The combination, With a road making machine having a body portion,ofa front afle supporting the front-end of the machine body; Wheelssupporting the axle at its ends; a tongue swingingly connected with thefront axle; and means for changing the planes of the front Wheelsrelative to the axle for steering the machine Without changing` thepositionof the tongue relative to the axle nor the positionfof the axlerelative to the machine body.

The combination, with a road making machine having a body portion, of afront axle supporting the front end of the machine body; Wheelssupporting the axle at its ends; .a tongue svvingingly connected withthe front axle; and means supported by the tongue for ,changing theplanes of the front Wheels relative to the axle for steering the machinewithout changing the position of the tongue relative to the' axle northe position of the axle relative to the machine body. Y

3. The combination, with a road making' machine, of a tongue s'Winginglyconnected with the machine; a bar movable lengthwise of itself andlaterally of the tongue across the tongue; a front axle; spindlespivoted vertically to the axle 'ends and having rigid forward' arms;road Wheels on the spindles; link-bars connecting the ends of themovable bar With the respective spindle-arms; and means for moving thebar to rock the spindies and change the angles of the Wheels to steerthe machine Without changing the position of the tongue relative to theaxle nor the position of the axle relative to the ma chine body.

e'. rl'he combination, With a road making machine, of a steering tonguesivingingly connected with the machine; a box sliding longitudinally of*the tongue; a pinion journaled in the box; meansr for manually rotatingthe pinion; a rack-bar moved length- Wise of itself and laterally of thetongue'by the pinion; a front axle; spindles pivoted vertically to theaxle ends and having rigid forward arms; road Wheels on the spindles;and link-bars connecting the ends of the rack-bar with the respectivespindle-arms.

5. The combination, with a road making machine having a body portion, ofa front axle supporting the front end of the machine bod-y, said axle asa` unit being movable lengthwise of itself but not slieivable; Wheelssupporting the axle at its ends; and means moving with the Wheels forchanging the planes of the Wheels relative to the axle for steering themachine Without changing the point of attachment of lthe tongue relativeto the machine body.

6. The combination, With a road making' machine having a body portionand a tongue, of a front axle supporting the front end of the machinebody, said axle as a unit being movable lengthwise of itself but notskewable; Wheels supporting the axle at its ends; means moving with theWheels for changing the planes of the wheels relative to the Xle forsteering the machine, and means manlili;

Ill.

ually operated at the rear end of the machine body for steeringthemachine with the front wheels independently of any steering action ofthe tongue.

7. lThe combination, witha road making machine having a body portion, ofa front axle rigidly attached to the body and a tongue a pair of roadwheels supporting the front end of the body, and a pair of road wheelssupport-ing the real'r end of the body;

means comprising vertical rockable spindles connecting the front wheelswith the front axle for changing the planes of the front pair of wheelsto steer the machine, means manually operated at the rear end of themachine body for .rocking the vertical spindles at they front end of themachine body to steer the machine and a separate means operated by thetongue for rocking the spinf dles to steer t-he machine.

8. A road making machine comprising a front axle, spindles pivotedto theends of said axle having forwardly extended rigid A arms, road wheelsmounted on the spindles, a connecting bar pivoted at its outer endto thesteering means and attached at its other end to a spindle arm andattaching means comprising a pair of pins one of which is adapted tobreak at a predetermined strain to allow the adjacent road wheel toswing on its spindle.

9. The combination, with a road making machine, of a tongue iexiblyattached to the front axle, means carried by the tongue for steering thefront wheels of the machine by the side movement of the tongue, aseparate steering meansl operated from a different part of the machine,said two means being jointly or separately operable and each selectivelyoperable to augment or retard the steering movement of the other.

10. The combination, with a road making machine having a machine body,of an axle supporting the front end of the body said axle having anadjustment lengthwise of itself relative to the body but not skewable; apair of wheels supporting the axle; a tongue swingingly connected withthe axle; means connected with the tongue for changing the planes oi'the wheels relative to the axle to steer the machine; said means beingoperable bythe side swing of the tongue, and a second means operatedfrom another part of the machine, both means being operable jointly orseparately.

11. The combination, with a road making machine, mounted on wheels, ofmeans for changing the directions of the planes of the wheels to steerthe machine, a. tongue a second steering means operated from a differentpart of the machine, said means for changing the planes of the wheelsbeing operable without interference with the swinging of the tongue orwith the second steering means.

12. The combination, with aroad making machine, mounted on wheels, ofmeans for changing the directions of the planes of the wheels to steerthe machine, a tongue swing'` ingly connected to the front axle and 'asecond steering means operated from a dili'erent part of the machine,said means for changing the planes of the wheels being` operable withoutinterference with the swinging of the tongue or with the second steeringmeans.

13. rlhe combination, with aroadmaking machine, of a tongue swinginglyconnected at its rear end to the machine, a pair oi front wheels, meanscontacting the tongue to change the planes of the front wheels to tochange the planes of the front wheels to -f steer the machine, and anelastic suspension from the tongue to a higher portion of the machine totake the weight of the tongue off of the steering means.

15. The combination, with a road making machine having a` body member,oi' a front axle supporting the front end of the machine body; wheelssupporting the axle at its ends said axle being a supporting member onlyand not for steering the machine body; spindles carrying the frontwheels pivoted'upon a Yvertical axis, means for rotating said wheelsabout said axis to steer the machine in the desired direction, a tongue,and a second steering means, said first steering means being operablewithout interfering with the second steering means or with the sideswing of the tongue.

16. The combina-tion, with a road making machine having a body memberand a scraper blade, of a front axle support-ing the front end of themachine body; wheels supporting the axle at its ends said axle being asupporting member only, not used for steering the machine body; adrawbar extending rear-f. wardly of the `front axle, for supporting thescraper blade; a short draw-bar extending through the front axle to therear end of which the iirst draw-bar is attached, land a tongue iexiblyattached to the front end of the short drawbar whereby the pull of thetongue is exerted directly through the short. drawbar of the-roadmaking' machine and not through a king pin.

17. The combination, with a road making machine having a body member anda scraper blade, of a front axle supporting the front end of the machinebody; wheels supporting the axle at its ends, said front axle being asupporting member only and not used for steering the machine body; adraw-bar extending rearwardly fromv the front axle, for supporting thescraper blade; a short draw-bar extendingV through the front axle to therear endofwhich the first draw-bar is attached, a tongue flexiblyattached to the front end of the short draw bar of said machine wherebythe pull of the tongue is exerted directly through the short draw-barwithout appreciably changing the point of such attachment with referenceto the longitudinal center line of said road making machine.

18. The combinatiomwith a road making machine having a body member and ascraper blade; of a front axle supporting the front end of the machinebody; wheels supporting the axle at its ends; said front axle beingassupporting member only and not used for steering the machine body; a.drawbarextending rearwardly of the front axle for supporting the scraperblade; a short draw-bar extending through the front axle to the rearend-*of which the first draw-bar is attached; a tongue; andv means forflexibly attaching the tongue to the front end of the short draw barwherebyY the line of pull of said tongue may; or not7 be parallel to thelongitudinal center line of said machine body.

19. rhe combination, with a road making machine having a body member,ofa front axle supporting the front end of the machine body; wheelssupporting the axle. at its ends, said front axle being va supportingmember only and not for steeringv the machine body; spindles carryingthe front wheels pivoted upon vertical axes; means for rotating saidwheels about said axes to steer the machine body in the desireddirection; a tongue; means for attaching it flexibly to the axle; meansfor operating the steering wheels by the tongue and means for operatingthem independently of the action of the tongue whereby the planes of thewheels may or may not be parallel to the longitudinalcenter line of thetongue.

20. The combination; with a road making machine comprising a machinebody, of a front axle supporting the frontend of the machine body;vspindles carrying the front wheels pivoted upon vertical axes; 'meansfor swinging said wheels about said axes to Steerthe machine in thedirection desired;

a tongue; means for flexibly attaching the tongue to the axle betweenthefront wheels, means for operating said wheel-swingingmachine-steering means by the swing of the tongue, and means foroperating them independently of the swing of the tongue, said steeringmeans being operable jointly or separately.

2l. The combination; with a road making machine compri-sing a machinebody, of a front axle supporting the front end of the machine body;spindles carrying the front wheels said spindles being pivoted on theirvertical axes; means for swinging the wheels about said vertical axes tosteer the machine; a steering tongue flexibly attached to the frontaxle; means connected with the steering tongue for operating. saidwheelswinging machine-steering means and a second tongue for draftpurposes secured to the first tongue. l

22. The combination, with a road making machine comprising a machinebody, of a front axle supporting the front end of the machine body.;spindles carrying the front wheels said spindles being pivoted on upontheir vertical axes; means for swinging the wheels about said verticalaxes to lsteer the machine; a steering tongue flexibly attached to thefront axle; means connectedwith'the steering tongue for operating saidwheelswinging machine-steering means; a second tongue for draft purposessecured to the first tongue, and elastic suspension means connecting thetongues with a higher part of the machine body.

23. The combination; with a road making machine; of a steering tongueswingingly connected with the machine.; a bar movable lengthwise ofitself and laterally of the tongue across the tongue; a rack extendinglengthwise of the bar; a front` axle; spindles pivoted vertically tolthe axle ends and having rigid forwardarms; road wheels on the spindles;link-bars connecting the ends of the movable bar with the respectivespindle-arms; and; means, comprising a pinion engaging the rack, formoving the bar to rock the spindles and thereby change the angles of thewheels to steer the machine.v

In testimony whereof I ai'iix my signature.

JQHN M. LARSH.

Vce

CERTIFICATE 0F GORRECTEON.

Patent No. 1,628, 851. Granted May 17, 1927, to

JOHN M. LARSH.

It is hereby certified that the above numbered patent was erroneouslyissued to the inventor, said Larsh, one-fourth to William Mode Taylorand one-fourth to Ulysses Grant Smith, as assignees, whereas saidLetters Patent should have been issued to the inventor, said Lai-sh,one-half to William Mode Taylor, and one-fourth to Ulysses Grant Smith,both of indianapolis, indiana, as assignees; as shown by the records ofassignments in this office; and that tite said Letters Patent should beread wi th this correction therein that the same may conform to therecord of the ease in the Patent (liiice. y'

Signed and sealed this 7th day of lune, A. D. 192,7.

M. J. Moore,

Seal. Acting Commissioner of Patents.

